We are off to the garden market with Giovanni, a botanist and a garden designer. We are choosing the most suitable plants for the terrace on the lake.

This terrace will become a relax corner, a heaven of peace and tranquility.

Giovanni and I decided to create two green areas. On the terrace there were already some plants: hellebourus, nadina, skimmia , roses, tulips bulbs, muscari and hyacinth. We chose some perennials, herbs, shrubs, grass family and some flower seeds.
Our aim was to have flowers all year round. All these plants like sun and half shade, need general topsoil and are very easy to take care of.
We selected some herbs with different foliage: variegated thyme with small green/gold leaves, red mint whose leaves are nearly marsala red, lemon balm, basil and oregano.

Not forgetting a small presents for elves: wild strawberries...

Lavender was a must so we picked two varieties: the wild pink lavender which is already in bloom and the white edelweiss. I’m very curious about the white one as it’s the first time that I’ve seen it.

It was love at first sight with the wild Stipa bush with its flowing dancing mane (I noticed that Hermes used it in a recent advert).

In the last few decades the grass family has become more and more and popular. Many international garden designers love these shrubs as they need little care and water. They are exuberant all year around and breathtaking in winter when covered in frost.

If you happen to go to Lake Iseo this summer, the village of Paratico has a beautiful area of dancing grasses near the lake front. Don’t miss the “The Floating Piers” created by the Bulgarian artist Christo From the 18th June to the 3rd July.

We thought of integrating some Osmanthus shrubs with the roses to create a green wall. The Osmanthus is a frost resistant, perennial plant, with a white spring blossom.

We added a touch of China with the Rosalita Moscata which has 5 petals and an amazing light perfume.
With our treasure of plants and seeds we headed for the lake to plant them.

We put the Bacsac pots near some old ones of different sizes. A few red pots were added to give it a splash of colour.

See you next month!